Saturday, October 13, 2007

Simple Philosophy--Written July 10th, 2007

The last two times I have wanted to go to the pool, William, has rejected the idea. Of course, he has to go anyway as his opinion doesn't matter in areas like this. If it were left up to him, he would sit at home play games on the computer, watch television, read his big thick books, listen to music and work on projects. My opinion counts more not just because I am "She, who must be obeyed" but also because I am experienced enough to know everyone needs time out of the house and they need exercise. The pool takes care of both. So we head out each time William's shoulders slumped over and reluctance written all over his face. He is always given the choice of which pool we will land at and each time refuses. So I chose. Last week I chose Southland Pool. Arriving, we set up our spot, put the dreaded sunscreen on and get into the pool. It was sooooo chilly. I almost felt he was correct in not wanting to be there. But as we emerged ourselves the temperature seem to adjust and we began playing ball in the pool. Shortly after we began, I noticed a preteen female watching us. I threw the ball to her and the fun began. Her name was Lena and she was from South Carolina. I played ball with them for an hour. Then after break William got back in and played ball with her for close to another hour. He met her cousin, Tina. They had to leave before we did. We laughed about the changes of meeting Lena and Tina at the pool. William agreed he had a great time. This weekend I advised William we would be going to the pool on Tuesday, my day off. I suggested he call Joshua to see if he could go with us. Yesterday when I left for work I again reminded him to call Joshua. This morning when I reminded him he needed to get ready for the pool, the opposition began. He doesn't want to go to the pool. He can get exercise by riding his bike in the neighborhood. He never has anything to do at the pool. I directed him to call Joshua and, of course, due to late notice, he already had plans. Pa came home for lunch; William got his stuff together and sits on the step by the computer where Pa was checking his stocks. He looked despondent and you could almost hear audibly his psyche calling out to Pa, "Help me out here! Make her let me stay home." He must have somehow forgotten that Pa has trouble hearing audible sounds let alone telepathic ones. We left William's safe domain and again, I gave him the choice of pool to grace with our presence. He refused so I choose Woodland Pool this time. We arrived, set up our spot and applied the never wanted sunscreen. I inquired as to whether he remembered to bring the water balls and received confirmation. We headed into the pool. This time, I notice a teenage male close by and let the ball go toward him. He catches it and gets ready to toss it over to me. I asked if he wanted to throw with us and he agreed. I pointed William out to him, which isn't difficult; he's always the tallest in the pool. The play began. With two water balls traveling back and forth, introductions were made. We found ourselves to be playing ball with Nathaniel from Tennessee. William had a blast with him. So much so that when the storm came up and ran us out of the pool area, they decided to go to the park and run obstacle courses. Nathaniel will be in town for another week and a half. We made plans to try and meet up again before he leaves. His grandfather picked him about 3 o'clock and we headed home. Gleaning from this pool experience as well as last week's pool experience, we headed home with a new philosophy for life. William is extremely embarrassed that his mother came up with it, but agrees with it nonetheless. It is a philosophy I have asked him to remember next trip to the pool and one you can benefit from as well.

This Piece of Clay

I am all about creating memories with my family. Hiking is one of my FAVORITE activites. I love to travel. I hope I never stop learning. I enjoy photography,reading and camping. I don't see myself as religious, but spiritual. The treasure I have in this earthen vessel gives me strength, promise and fortitude. With it, I want to make a difference in this crazy world.